Benidorm turns off some of its most emblematic spaces this Saturday in commemoration of 'Earth Hour'

Benidorm City Council has joined for another year the 'Earth Hour' initiative, promoted worldwide by WWF which proposes turning off the lights in the most emblematic spaces in the world for 60 minutes as a symbol of the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. Founded 18 years ago in Sydney, 'Earth Hour' is celebrated this Saturday, March 23, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

The Councilor for the Environment, Mónica Gómez, has reported that “during those 60 minutes, Benidorm City Council will turn off the lights in some of the most iconic and emblematic enclaves of our city, such as El Tossal, El Castell, the façade of the City Hall, the monument of La Cruz de la Serra Gelada, the ornamental lighting of the wall of Paseo de Poniente and the light garland of Paseo de Levante", thus contributing to "drawing the attention of neighbours and tourists to the environmental degradation that is being suffered our planet and give it, thus, an hour of respite.”

Gómez recalled, "Benidorm is a benchmark city in sustainability, both in its conception and management, constantly promoting and implementing measures that favour the fight against climate change." She stressed, “We were pioneers in developing an Action Plan for Climate Change,” a document that has become a guide and roadmap when designing municipal actions and policies.

Only in energy matters and as an example, the councillor recalled, "years ago we began the renovation of the city's lighting and public lighting to implement 'LED' technology in the majority of light points in Benidorm to reduce the consumption and CO2 emissions and improve lighting conditions", to which other projects are also added, such as the "installation of solar panels in municipal buildings, public schools, social centres or sports facilities, to generate their electricity and that also "have made it possible to reduce emissions and energy consumption."

So far, and according to WWF data, in Spain 395 City Councils - 49 of them from the Valencian Community -, 81 organizations and 113 companies have already joined the 'Earth Hour' campaign, including one city hotel chain.

The councillor of Environment has indicated that, in addition to the institutional or business sphere, citizens can also join this hour without light on Saturday. Finally, the councillor has echoed the words of the WWF, which in the call for 'Earth Hour' recalls that “last year has been the warmest recorded in history. This increase in global temperature has translated into increasingly frequent extreme weather phenomena such as floods, heat waves and devastating fires" and "there is also plenty of evidence of the climate crisis, and in this context 'Earth Hour' "gives people the opportunity to show their concern about the environmental degradation of the planet (global warming, loss of nature, pollution) and highlight the need for action."